Poland’s abortion rights protesters prepare for revolution

“We’re entering a second stage of the revolution, and everyone’s invited” #12DaysofResistance

Lidia Kurasinska
2 January 2021

“We’re entering a second stage of the revolution, and everyone’s invited,” said Klementyna Suchanow during an online press conference on 22 December, after two months of mass protests organised by the Polish Women’s Strike.

The demonstrations began in response to a ruling that would ban abortion in cases of severe foetal anomaly in October, but they soon took on a broader anti-government sentiment.

Continued: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/polands-abortion-rights-protesters-prepare-for-revolution/

02.01.2021

Polish women's strike

severe foetal anomaly

A major battle is brewing over abortion rights in Poland

Dec 19, 2020

By Malcolm Brabant, Ivette Feliciano
Video – 9:21 minutes

A major battle is underway over abortion rights in Poland. The country’s constitutional court, whose legitimacy has been questioned by some, has made it even harder for Polish women to get abortions. The move has been condemned by the European Parliament and human rights groups like Amnesty International. Special Correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports from the capital Warsaw.

Read the Full Transcript

Continued: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/a-major-battle-is-brewing-over-abortion-rights-in-poland

“They’re uncompromising”: How the young transformed Poland’s abortion protests

Four years ago, Polish women went on strike over an abortion ban. Now, a younger, fiery generation has joined them.

Magdalena Muszel, Grzegorz Piotrowski
11 December 2020

The protests in Poland over the government’s plans to further tighten abortion restrictions began in October – they haven’t stopped since. Now, some are calling it the “cardboard revolution” in reference to the handmade placards that have become a distinctive feature of the protests. But what’s novel about the movement isn’t the ubiquitous signage – it’s the young age of its participants.

When looking through the crowds at the protests, it quickly becomes clear that most participants appear to be in their early twenties. That might explain the radicalism of the movement’s chants and slogans, but also it’s creativity and spontaneity.

Continued: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/can-europe-make-it/theyre-uncompromising-how-the-young-transformed-polands-abortion-protests/

Solidarity across countries: Perspectives of Polish abortion rights protesters

BY MIRANDA JIANG
Dec 5, 2020

More than 200 people met at San Francisco’s Rincon Park on Nov. 1 to show support for the protests in Poland against the government’s latest abortion restrictions. Right next to the Embarcadero waterfront, face-masked adults and children carried signs emblazoned with red bolts of lightning, the symbol of Poland’s Women’s Strike. On the signs were slogans, most in Polish and some in English, including “San Fran stands with the women of Poland” and “Abort the Patriarchy.”

“This is a peaceful show of support for our country,” said Magdalena Myszka, a Bay Area resident born and raised in Poland. Myszka organized this protest by posting an event on Facebook. The protesters chanted slogans used in the Polish protests, some of which translate to “I think, I feel, I decide” and “This is war.”

Continued: https://www.dailycal.org/2020/12/05/poland-abortion-protests/

Rage and hope fuel women’s revolt over abortion in Poland

by VANESSA GERA, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Posted Dec 2, 2020

WARSAW, Poland — Karolina Micula had used her bare chest in political protest once before.

When Poland’s right-wing government first tried to restrict abortion rights, the actress and singer delivered an intense performance onstage in Wroclaw in 2017 that included her spreading paint in the national colours — white and red — onto her breasts and face, ending with a fist raised high.

Continued: https://www.570news.com/2020/12/02/rage-and-hope-fuel-womens-revolt-over-abortion-in-poland/

Police block Warsaw march against abortion ruling, force use

Nov 28, 2020
By: Vanessa Gera, Canadian Press

WARSAW, Poland — Police blocked protesters from marching in Poland's capital as demonstrations took place across the country against an attempt to restrict abortion rights and recent police violence.

Police and protesters played a game of cat and mouse in Warsaw as officers set up cordons which the protesters sought to evade, pushing them to try to regroup elsewhere in the city centre.

Continued: https://www.rmotoday.com/world-news/police-block-warsaw-march-against-abortion-ruling-force-use-3135578

28.11.2020

police brutality against protesters

pro-choice protests

Strajk Kobiet

Women's Rights Roundabout

Poland’s abortion protests: A fight for democracy?

(25 minute video)
27 Nov 2020
Al Jazeera

In this episode of UpFront, we debate the abortion ban and the protests it has triggered with Poland’s deputy foreign minister, Paweł Jabłoński and Karolina Wigura, political editor of the Polish weekly Kultura Liberalna.

And in a Special Interview, we discuss climate justice and Indigenous rights with activist and economist Winona LaDuke.

Continued: https://www.aljazeera.com/program/upfront/2020/11/27/polands-abortion-protests-a-fight-for-democracy/

Poland abortion protests reflect a deep schism in country’s society

By Michael Daventry
25/11/2020

In October, Poland became the only European Union country to remove a right to legal abortion from its citizens.

The country’s top court ruled on October 22 that it was unconstitutional to abort a foetus if it had congenital defects.

Continued: https://www.euronews.com/2020/11/25/poland-abortion-protests-reflect-a-deep-schism-in-country-s-society

POLAND – Reports of heavy-handed and illegal treatment of protestors by police

International Campaign for Safe Abortion
NOVEMBER 25, 2020

A survey carried out on 6-12 November among a representative group of 1,010 adult Poles using a computer-assisted face-to-face interview method, found that 29% of those aged 18-24 had participated in the street protests of the past month. The greatest support for the protests was expressed by people from cities with 20,000-100,000 residents (78% in total, of which 16% said they had taken part in the protests), followed by people from cities with over 500,000 inhabitants (71%, of which 18% participated in the protests). More women than men participated in the protests but the level support was equal. Overall, 70% of the respondents supported the street protests; 13% of respondents had participated in the protests (4% many times and 9% once). Only 25% did not participate in or support the demonstrations and 5% did not know.

Continued: https://www.safeabortionwomensright.org/news/poland-reports-of-heavy-handed-and-illegal-treatment-of-protestors-by-police/

25.11.2020

Amnesty International

Draginja Nadazdin

Marta Lempart

Poland Constitutional Tribunal

police brutality against protesters

pro-choice protests

public support for abortion

Women’s Strike

Photojournalist detained at Poland’s latest abortion protest

by VANESSA GERA
Nov 23, 2020

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Police detained several people and charged a female photojournalist with assaulting a police officer as women-led protests over abortion rights flared up again on Monday in Poland.

Soon after the protest in Warsaw began, police arrived and forcibly removed people, including photojournalist Agata Grzybowska.

Continued: https://apnews.com/article/poland-courts-warsaw-2dece52da1fa08b266fe0dc2164d6a19